Who Gave You the Epsilon? The Origins of Cauchy's Rigorous Calculus

Authors

Judith V. Grabiner, Pitzer CollegeFollow

Document Type

Article

Program

Mathematics (Pitzer)

Publication Date

3-1983

Keywords

Epsilon, Calculus, Augustin-Louis Cauchy, Isaac Newton, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

Abstract

This paper recounts the history of how calculus came to get a rigorous basis in terms of the algebra of inequalities. The result is a brief history of the 150 years from Newton and Leibniz to Cauchy that produced the foundations of analysis.

Comments

Please note that this paper won the Lester R. Ford Award in 1984.

Rights Information

© 1983 Mathematical Association of America. All Rights Reserved.

Recommended Citation

Grabiner, Judith V. "Who Gave You the Epsilon? The Origins of Cauchy's Rigorous Calculus." The American Mathematical Monthly 90.3 (March 1983): 185-194.